Hydraulic packer constructed in glass-fiber reinforced epoxi and stainless steel

ABSTRACT

The model consists of a hydraulic packer constructed in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and stainless steel which has been developed and designed with wholly corrosion resistant material, being constructed with 70% glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and 30% stainless chromium steel. It has a larger area of packing and seal. It works with low driving pressure. Its hydraulic chamber achieves a greater packing force at normal pressure. It can be used in wells with tubing made of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy. It has a double anchorage system and a jack system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

This model consists of a Hydraulic Packer constructed in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and stainless steel.

In order to get a better understanding of this invention so that it can be put into practice with easiness, a detailed description will be given in the following paragraphs about the best way to carry out the invention, making reference in the description to the attached drawings, the whole with character of purely demonstrative example but not restrictive to the invention. Its components can be selected among several equivalents without leaving aside the principles of the invention established in this documentation.

(2) Prior Art

The inventor knows several achievements which are analyzed hereinafter.

As a consequence of this, patent GB2287734 has been localized, which consists in Seals which have non-metallic springs. One or more springs 22 are contained in an elastomeric body 10 used as a seal between telescopic components such as water well 14 and cover 16. The springs 22 are ordered annularly in the body which is made of a non metallic material (for example engineering plastics, composed of graphite or glass fiber, “KEVLAR” (RTM) o PEEK, able to be strongly connected to the body 10 and softer than the seal surfaces of the component 14 and 16 to avoid risk of scratching or damage from springs 22 to a part of body 10. Electrolytic corrosion risk is also avoided.

Patent US2003000710 is also localized, which consists of a resin impregnated Plug of the continuous fiber with non metallic elements.

A system of non metallic elements is provided which can seal or close efficiently an annular piece under high temperatures.

The system can also resist high differential pressures without sacrificing operation or suffering a mechanical degradation and it is considerably faster than drilling upwards as in a conventional system. In another aspect, the material composed covers a mixture of reinforced epoxi resin with layers of glass fiber superimposed about 30 to nearly 70 degrees. A tool such as a bridge plug or a packer is also provided. The tool comprises a first and a second helping ring that has one or more sharpened wedge, first and second ring of the extension, and a sealing member disposed between the rings of the extension and the helping rings.

Patent US2003226668 is also studied, and consists of a System that anchors or seals for a drilling tool. This invention is generally related to a method and a device to seal an annular piece in a well. In one aspect, the device is a system that anchors and seals for a drilling tool such as a bridge plug, packer. The sealing system comprises a component of the same disposed between a ring system, an expansion ring system adjacent to each cone, a helping ring system and a slider system. The sealing system components are adjusted in such a manner that when they are comprised, the sealing member can be expanded in a radial way in contact with a cover.

Finally, Patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,962 is studied, and consists of a Packer.

An inflatable packer which includes several annular layers of material, which consists of a series of oriented fibers encapsulated in an elastomeric resin, the inner and outer circumferential, the surfaces of the packer, each of which has a protecting layer of material effective to protect the elastomeric resin, each protecting layer 9, 11, are placed in the packer in a folded manner, in such a way that the unfolding of the layers enables the inflation of the packer.

Having studied the preceding quoted documentation, it is concluded that the same is not a hindrance for this application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this is to have a Hydraulic Packer constructed in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and stainless steel.

Due to the increasing problems of corrosion in wells caused by chemical and bacteriological agents present in the production and injection fluids, the conventional tools for wells made of carbon steel have scarce durability and this provokes very expensive replacements.

It is prevailing then, to develop new tools that, being reliable in their operation, have also a useful life substantially higher than the traditional ones.

The hydraulic packer presented has been developed and designed with wholly corrosion resistant material, and is constructed with 70% Glass-Fiber Reinforced Epoxi, and 30% stainless chromium steel.

Unlike tools made of carbon steel that due to the corrosive environment of wells must often be replaced in less than a year, this tool can last more than a decade in contact with any kind of aggressive agents.

Because of its component material this is an ecological tool that avoids well pollution due to corrosion products and it contributes to protect the environment.

Due to its durability and corrosion resistance, it is intended to offer operative solutions through time, and contribute to protect the environment and safety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

In FIG. 1 attached herein on a separate sheet, there is a view of a transverse cutting that shows the components of the valve and their interrelation. In FIG. 2, attached herein on a second sheet, there is a view of a transverse cutting with a variant of realization of said model.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

In the figure above described the same reference characters indicate parts alike or corresponding, being number-1—the mandrel; number-2—the piston carrier; number-3—element retainer sleeve, number-4—upper cone: reference number-5—to indicate the jaw and reference number-6—to indicate the packing elements.

Reference number-7—is to indicate the lower cone, reference number-8—to indicate pistons, reference number-9—to indicate the fixing mandrel; reference number-10—to indicate the pin holding nut; reference number-11—to indicate the hydraulic sleeve; and reference number-12—to indicate the restraint ring.

Reference number-13—to indicate the upper calibration ring; reference number-14—to indicate lower calibration ring; reference number-15—to indicate the spacer rings—reference number-16—to indicate the jaw holder, reference number-17—to indicate upper header, reference number-18—to indicate lower header and the reference number-19—to indicate the piston strip.

At the same time, reference-a—indicates the entrance hole and reference-b—indicates the admission holes.

This development basically consists of an Hydraulic Packer constructed in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and stainless steel.

It is a tool used in production or injection wells, called Hydraulic Packer and it is used to isolate oil, gas or water layers.

It is hydraulically operated by means of pressure applied from the surface of the well.

To begin with, this tool has a hydraulic piston system that slides down inside a hydraulic chamber. When providing differential pressure, and thanks to the fixing zones which are part of this tool, the tool is driven to one of the ends, thus achieving the anchorage and the packing of elements.

At the same time the hydraulic sleeve and piston have a jack system which makes the tool not to go back when giving pressure and to support its anchorage and packing with a certain strength, which is given by the areas of the piston, the mandrel and the hydraulic sleeve.

To begin with it works as a hydraulic piston with the difference that when the pressure is taken out it does not turn back since it is held by a jack that supports all the strength of the anchorage and packing.

Since this tool is a cylindrical hybrid, it is machined with conventional machines, such as industrial lathes and industrial milling cutters. All of the parts of this tool go through a turning and milling process, including the stainless steel and the glass-fiber reinforced epoxy parts.

As regards the parts made of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy, the raw material is in the manner of cylindrical bars, which are machined with machine tools such as lathes and milling cutters.

The machining of the glass-fiber reinforced epoxy parts is carried out in a conventional manner, by only changing the turning advancing and the chip removal, since it is a material more brittle than steel.

On the other hand, the operative innovation that this tool has is a larger area of packing and seal, due to its system of strong packing elements, specially adapted for this tool. It works with low pressure of operation, which reduces accident risks.

Its hydraulic chamber was specially designed to achieve a larger strength of packing at normal pressure, and it enables its use in wells with glass-fiber reinforced epoxy tubing, without the need to do the double fixing stroke with steel tubing of conventional tools.

It has a double anchorage system, specially designed to anchor in casing of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy, without damaging it and avoiding the displacement of the packer when the well is operating.

Once the different components of the invention version are established and developed in order to explain their nature, the description is then complemented with the functional and operating relation of its parts and the result they provide.

In order to obtain a Hydraulic Packer constructed in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and stainless steel it is hydraulically operated by means of pressure applied from the surface of the well. Such liquid goes through the entrance hole (a) from the mandrel (1) and moves the piston holder (2), the element holder sleeve (3) and the upper cone (4). This one due to its conical shape in its lower end moves the jaw (5) outwards until it hits the casing (not represented). When this occurs, the piston holder (2) and the element holder sleeve (3) go on advancing, compressing the packing elements (6) and the lower cone (7) joined to the mandrel.

It is important to mention that the mandrel (1) is wholly made of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy, while the piston holder (2), the element holder sleeve (3), the upper cone (4), the jaw (5) and the lower cone (7) are made of steel SAE 4140 N with nickel-plating superficial treatment. On the other hand, the packing elements (6) are made of acrylonitrile.

This model represents a set with pistons (8) prepared to operate in wells where there are differential pressures; that is to say, this packer is prepared to be anchored to the pipe with the jaws (5) and the pistons (8).

When the tool is driven, this operates according to the abovementioned description. The pistons (8) are operated by means of the ground pressure of the fluid that enters through the admission holes (b) of the upper cone (4), goes along the mandrel (1), the element holder sleeve (3) and then gets below the pistons (8). In this way the fluid pressure moves them outwards and anchors them in the casing (not represented). The pistons (8) are only activated when we have a well with ground pressure, to help this pressure not to move the packer and so have an effective grip of the tool through the jaws (5) at the lower part and of the pistons (8) at the upper part. It can be observed that the pistons (6) hit in the piston strip (19).

When operating the tool in its upper part, the fixing mandrel (9) is joined to the mandrel (1) and the pieces that slide down to the lower end of the packer are the pin holder nut that goes screwed to the hydraulic sleeve (11) that at the same time is joined with the piston holder (2) and the rest of the pieces as it has already been explained. They slide through the movement that the restraint ring (12) does which is inside the pin holder nut (10) and that works like a jack, at the same time the pressure pushes the hydraulic sleeve (1) with the piston holder (2) and the rest of the pieces. The restraint ring (12) is advancing and restraining at the same time, it is fixing in the saw thread of the fixing mandrel (9) since the restraint ring (12) has the same thread but counterclockwise.

Consequently, when the packer is wholly activated, the restraint ring (12) supports all the packing and fixing of the jaws in the fixing mandrel (9) since it remains embedded in the saw tooth threads.

The pistons (8) are made of steel SAE 8620 with nickel-plating surface treatment, the fixing mandrel (9) can be made of steel SAE 4140 N with nickel-plating surface treatment or of stainless steel AISI 316L, the pin holder nut (10), the restraint ring (12) are made of steel SAE 4140 N with nickel-plating surface treatment. The hydraulic sleeve (11) can be made of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy or stainless steel AISI 316L.

To complete we have the upper calibration ring (13) and the lower calibration ring (14), both made of steel SAE 4140 N with nickel-plating surface treatment, being the first ring placed in the lower end of the element holder (3) and the second one in the initial end of the upper cone (4), which are used to calibrate the compression of the packing elements (6), being these ones separated among themselves by the spacer rings (15). These can be obtained either in steel SAE 4140 N with nickel-plating superficial treatment or in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy.

It is important to mention that the jaws (5) and the lower cone (7) are placed into the jaw holder (16) which can be either made of steel SAE 4140N with nickel-plating surface treatment or of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy.

On the other hand in this model the mandrel (1) is connected to the rest of the components of the oil well by the upper header (17), placed in the first end of the packer and by the lower header (18) placed in the opposite end, both made of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy or of stainless steel AISI 316L.

Lastly, we have the operating example as it can be observed in the FIG. 2. Unlike the original model it does not have the piston holder (2), the pistons (8) and the piston strip (19). It has another configuration: the hydraulic sleeve (11) where the element holder sleeve (3) and the upper calibration ring (13) are fixed. The rest of the components are similar to the original model except the length of the mandrel (1) and the absence of the admission holes (b) of the upper cone (4). 

1. (canceled)
 2. A hydraulic packer comprising: a hydraulic chamber; at least one hydraulic piston that slides down inside said hydraulic chamber; and said packer having at least one part made of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy.
 3. The hydraulic packer according to claim 2, wherein at least one said part comprises a mandrel made wholly from said glass-fiber reinforced epoxy.
 4. The hydraulic packer according to claim 3, further comprising: a piston holder; an element holder sleeve; and an upper cone, each of which is formed from a steel material having a nickel-plating.
 5. The hydraulic packer according to claim 4, further comprising: a plurality of jaws which are movable outwardly by a lower end of the upper cone; a plurality of packing elements; and a lower cone joined to said mandrel; and each of said jaws and said lower cone being formed from a steel material having a nickel plating.
 6. The hydraulic packer according to claim 5, wherein each said packing elements is made of acrylonitrile.
 7. The hydraulic packer according to claim 5, wherein said upper cone has at least one fluid admission hole and said at least one piston is operated by fluid which enters through said at least one fluid admission hole.
 8. The hydraulic packer according to claim 5, further comprising a fixing mandrel joined to the mandrel.
 9. The hydraulic packer according to claim 8, further comprising a restraint ring for supporting said packing elements and for fixing said jaws in said fixing mandrel.
 10. The hydraulic packer according to claim 9, further comprising: a plurality of pistons; each of said pistons being made of a first steel material with a nickel plating; said fixing mandrel and said restraint ring being formed from a second steel material different from said first steel material; and said second steel material being nickel plated.
 11. The hydraulic packer according to claim 10, further comprising a hydraulic sleeve and a pin holder nut, and said hydraulic sleeve being formed from a material selected from the group consisting of a glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and a stainless steel.
 12. The hydraulic packer according to claim 10, further comprising: an upper calibration ring and a lower calibration ring; each said ring being formed from a steel material with a nickel plating; said upper calibration ring being placed in a lower end of the element holder; and said lower calibration ring being placed in an end of the upper cone.
 13. The hydraulic packer according to claim 10, further comprising: a jaw holder made from a material selected from the group consisting of steel with nickel plating and glass-fiber reinforced epoxy; and said jaws and said lower cone being placed into the jaw holder.
 14. The hydraulic packer according to claim 10, further comprising: an upper header placed in a first end of the packer and a lower header placed in an opposite end; and each of said headers being formed from a material selected from the group consisting of glass-fiber reinforced epoxy and stainless steel. 